Process for producing pastries and the like



24, 1939. w D. GlBSON PROCESS FOR PRODUCING IASTHIFS AND THE LIKE Filed June 1, 1936 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 mwmwm a 24, 193%. w 0. GIBSON TROCES5 FOR PRODUUING FASTRH'IS AND 'YHF LIKE F 2 y ,2 M 5 x W w m y W 5 w W 1M 6 3 w 6 1o w 1 m m J d m H.

\N D. GIBSON Jan. 2 5?, 1939.

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING IAS'IRIEIS AND THE LIKE Filed June 1, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 3m. 24, 193%. W D. GIBSON 2914497263 Pl-lOGE-tiS FOR PRODUCING PASTHIES AND TH?- LIKE Filed June 1, 19156 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. 24', W39 w D. GIBSON 3 PROCESS FOR PRODUCING PAH'IRH'ES AND 'PHF I JKF. 7

Filed June 1, 1936 e Sheeis-Sheet s 5m. 24, 1939. w D GIBSON PROCESS FOR IROLJUUHW: PASTRIES AND THE LIKE Filed Junel, 1936- 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented 24, l3

. 158 F93 PRQEUCWG EAETBHEfi AND Douglas Gibson, Loo moles, Calm, cs we: to Glbsou Marie Products, mu, Shoo Angeles, cum.

Appllcatlw 3m l, 193%, geriol No. 82,9138

My invention relates to bakery goods, particularly pastries and the like, and is dh'ecteu to an improved method of manufectming such goods.

While my invention maybe readily utilized in the production of a wide range o! bakery goods, it is peculiarly applicable to the production of pwtries or crackers, cud, therefore, by way of illustrating the principles involved for the purpose of disclosure to those skilled in the art, I shell dwcrihe my invention as applied specifically to the production of crackers.

The general object of my mvwtlon is to produce a, superior product economically.

In the prevailing practice, it is customary to form dough into baking imits by stamping the dough with dies of the required configuration, the dies being provided. with o plurality of pins mown as (lockers that perforate the slough, causing the two sides oi the dough unit to stick together. some means is necessary, also, to strip the dough units from the dies.

The individual dough units are usuelly bake-d in sheet mete! pens and are later sprayed with an edible oil such as butter or the like, or leimersed en messe in on oil bath and then drained.

In the regions of the dockcr marks, the finished cracker is relatively thin and the meterlal reletively compact, and in the remaining execs, ol' the cracker, pufis or convexitiee develop, caused by voids or gas pockets in the dough. The fiull potentialities tor inflation in these latter areas are, however, seldom realized in practice, the pufis either failing to develop, or developing trreguiatrly. As a result, the pattern of pufi areas of a cracker, as heretofore mouufectured, lo irregular and the cracker as a whole is undesir ably heavy and compact.

Oven heat warps and distorts the individual crackers from the original shape of the dough units and the edges of the crackers are often over-baked, Excessive browning oi the cracker margins is caused, in port, by the fact that beet is delivered edgewlse to the edge of the cracker as well as through both faces of the cracker, end, in port, by the further ioct that the distortion caused. by belting curls the edges of the crechcr into greater exposure to the heat.

The superiority of my product is rcprwented in several characteristics, two of the most im-= portont of which are the exceptional degree of puff or convexity of the cracker end the exceptionelly large proportion of the surface of the cracker that is pufiecl. The superiority also is furthered by uniformity of the product. The

crackers are uniformly bolted, the pulled areas are disposed in a uniform pattern, and the cracker is uniform in contour and configuration.

The c'llfiferent aspects of superiority of my prodnot are to be attributed to various novel steps and procedures in my process that avoid undeciroble results inescapable in the other methods.

For example, the customary use of stamping dies, whereby the whole dough unit is formed smiulteueously, has unfavorable efiects. The shock of the die and the severity of the stripping action take some of the life" out of the dough, lessening the sponginess of the dough and mitigating against the desired tendency of the dough, under the action of heat, to expand vertically into puff areas. Dough units so formed result in undesirable hardness of the finished cracker. Besides being subject to the shock of the stamp, the dough is unduly compressed by the stamping process, because the cutting edges of the die, entering the edges of the dough unit simultaneously, etfectively trap air over the dough surface, and the impact of the stamp momenterlly compresses this air. The result is that the dough unit is momentarily subject to e. pressure that damages its texture and lowers the quality of the finished product.

I have discovered that the sponginess of the dough and the desired responsiveness to heat may be conserved it the dough is formed in smooth progression into dough units for baking. In my invention, the desirably smooth transition from the uniformed to the formed state of the dough is achieved by progressively applying an orcuete forming member, such as a. forming roll, the curved surface of the forming member having ridges to outline the dough units and having ample recesses between the ridges to receive the dough and into which the dough is caused to bulge for the formation of puff areas.

A desirable degree of bulge of the dough into the recesses of the forming member may be obtamed. by adjusting the thickness of the untormed dough, the dimensions of the ridges, and the spacing of the ridges, these being the three important factors. It will be found that the gauging of these factors for a. desired result is neither climcult nor complicated, if the principle is grasped, but is simply a matter of adjustment well Within the expected skill of those experienced in the baking art. The thicker the sheet of unformed dough and the wider the ridges of the forming member, the greater the displacement of dough by the ridges, the displaced dough bulgbig into the recesses, and for e given thickness of dough sheet and width 01 ridge, there is a range of spacing oi the ridges within which the dough will round into the recesses with substantially continuous curvature of dough surface from one ridge to the other.

Satisfactory results in the employment of my process may be obtained it the dough is formed into a sheet by suitable plain rolls and then simply subjected to the action oi a forming roll, but my disclosure teaches that a degree of pull! or convexity hitherto unattained in the art may be had, it, before applying the forming roll, the plain sheet oi dough is crowded in a direction parallel with its surface in a manner to increase its thickness, and preferably such crowding is included at least once in the process. This crowding increases the sponginess ot the dough and vertically elongates the voids in the dough, thereby increasing the tendency of the dough to ex pand vertically under heat.

I have also discovered that the bulging of the dough into the recesses is facilitated and the configuration oi the cracker is improved, ii. the dough is resiliently supported when acted upon by the forming roll,

Excessive baking of the cracker edges and distortion in the configuration of the cracker, both of which defects are characteristic of the prior art, are avoided in my process by baking the cracker in the form of a sheet of interconnected dough units, the baked sheet being subsequently broken into separate crackers. This novel procedure is facilitated by arranging the forming member to impress or score the dough sheet with a pattern oi contiguous dough units. By baking the crackers in sheet form, I avoid excessive exposure of the cracker edges to the eil'ects of heat and I cause the dough units to support each other distortion. In ci iect, the internal stresses that tend "to distort one cracker are balanced by similar internal stresses of adjacent crackers. Preferably, the ridges on the forming roll are notched to form small ribs in the webs interconnecting the dough units.

The ridges may be employed solely to define the dough unit, or there may be a combination of primary ridges to outline dough units and secondary ridges to serve the purpose oi! the doekers or the prior art and, in addition. to define clearly the put! areas of the individual crackers. The diflerence between the primary ridges and the secondary ridges may be in the greater protuberance oi the primary ridges, or in the more extensive notching of the secondary ridges, or in both rwpects.

A feature oi my invention also contributing to the superiority of. the product is the halting oi the cracker sheet on an open support that enposes the under as well as the upper side of the dough.

A further object oi my invention bearing on the superiority of the cracker is to avoid excess oil treatment of the baked product, such excess oil often undesirably saturating the crackers in the prevailing practices. This object is attained by placing the baked sheet on an open support that permits ready drainage and then spraying the baked sheet while still hot from the oven. The heat of the baked sheet reduces the viscosity of the oil, causing it to flow readily, and the open support permits the oil to drain away freely. This procedure is in contrast with a common practice in which the oil cirl gvs from one cracker to another, and in which voids in a mass of crackers tend to retain the oil.

In devising the various steps of my process, I have had in mind economy of production, and to that end I have diligently sought procedures that readily lend themselves to mass production. As a result, I have developed a sequence of p crations that falls naturally into a scheme for continuous machine production of crackers, this being one of the prime objects of my invention.

Thus, one or more sets of plain rolls may be arranged to convert a continually replenished supply of dough into a continuous dough sheet for processing. The dough sheet is continuously conveyed under a forming roll, the desirable crowding of the dough to increase its sponginess being achieved by simply retarding the dough at some point in its progress to the forming roll. From the forming roll the sheet of interconnected dough units passes through an oven on a. travellug screen, permitting direct exposure of both sides of the crackers, the length of the oven and the rate of conveyance being such that the crackers leave the oven when baked to the proper point. Emerging from the oven, the traveling baked sheet is sprayed from both sides with oil and finally is broken into individual crackers.

The process of separating the baked sheet into individual crackers as will be described is, in itself, novel.

Other objects, features, and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the detailed description to follow, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus that may be used {or performing the earlier steps of y P Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section, on a slightly reduced scale, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a continuation oi Fig. 3, partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal, vertical section, showing apparatus that may be employed to perform the later steps of my process:

Fig. 5 is a horizontal, longitudinal section taken on the broken line ii -4 oi Fig. i;

Fig. 6 is a plan view, slightly enlarged, of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4, part 01' the view being taken in horizontal section as indicated by the line 8-4 01' Fig. 4;

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a portion of the mechanism, slightly enlarged, taken on the line 'l--'l of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a view in elevation, greatly enlarged, of the face oi one o! the lower spray discs shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line ii-23 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section, greatly on larged, showing the action of dough passing through the forming roll of the aparatus;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the conveyor belt used in the oven of my apparatus;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of a finished cracker that may be produced by my process;

Fig. 13 is a section through the cracker taken on the diagonal |3---i3 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a cracker of a difierent shape that may be produced by my process;

Fig. 15 is a development, on a slightly reduced scale, of a pattern for the forming roll that may be employed to produce the cracker of Fig. 12;

Shaft 12 extending 1 B6 is connected througm one We.

.L diet-mike owner; by

gear-box H, which shaft, gears, drives rolls 28 1%" Upper roll 28 is joumnleai w A i o members (not show in e y journal-box 18, by rotation o the spacing between rolls readily varied. These ease nously interlocked throng shown) and a transverse she. of the two rolls is controllei by I erable dial 88 mounteu on box IT and lceyecl to of ably, some means will :11 relative position of the Lia-i, mg finger 89 and index shown in Fig. 1.

enorasly ime l ed by on ml m pointer MB 115-- describes the alignment of the two I by tilting gear-mic; :zxm the spacing of the two mi J n by adjustment t'nreu t speed of rotation of the ml. by manipulation either :2. of control box 85, or offline. master control.

The mechanisi associated with rolls 32 one A y belt 90 from pulley 9i i l y a 1 3 em a belt 92 from I mechanism m the mesh-en vertical. shaft bearing 95 is eel-5x0; adjustment FI'CW l1? top of the 1) Through suitable '5 is connected with the it a, gear-box 9!; eorrespem 32 and 33 be 99 and in the on corresponding; to w Gear-box; '2 L n by slot-engaging; bolts gear-box H and jor parts being given 00 In the some manner 2" 32 and 33 rotate e journabbox MU, flanges lflflu moval of the 1 The eccen' rolls 32 and 1-3;.- s'nal't H12, jwstment dial fore with index 1 to pointer H3 1.

The meek assoc-lewd belt I06 mm by a belt I03 from a. no shaft 59. meelani control boxes 65 and W. the vertical. shaft Hill :2 bearing Hf being justable screw H'Z tent. the top of the eoutzel Z302;

Shaft H0, acting: thyme joint H4, drives the cone box H5 that conesgxonfis i 11.; i1 eescrib ervcir 206 to receive .mcltaci oil indicated. at 2M, 3 sible through opening on few From each side cf the reservoir, 209 terminate in an 1112 225." controlled by valves 2523s.? m zles 2H contrc'ilezi by" wm zles discharge jets cf 011 cm a. spray discs 2 TE and. Icwcr Each disc 13 mounwj 214 extending thrcugh mounted on the inner c m 71 form-mi 0 faces of the lacy-c1" d and are dispcserl in. these discs rotate c indicated by the mm 5389911133 jets of oil agm x 1 QT c drawings, eac. action a downwm th two spre cated by lines C3 ered against the chamber streams: d sheet beow 220 are p.:0v1c' mg spouts 2H cracker sheet.

Lower 53* dis-1c: 1, v am act similarly; in; w s'iighb'iy different cam stood by 15c ence is in. discs, each radial grccvca 13 511 the grooves en 5. 5 found that when such tion indicatcm 7' oil is (ls-HW the point rected, fun also dispcscfl the same mt. h

Gil (mmher and wires 2E; accwl tom 225 01 11115011102 4; h is 1c in H1: k r

,' vamicaiiy m lcmvcc tin 1; inc

tray spaced i. bottom 235' m A. study 0f th aieaass s As the dough passes into contact with tannins roll 36, ridges of the forming roll successively enter the dough sheet, displacing dough to each side of each advancing ridge into the adjacent re cesses. Fig. ill shows a transverse ridge sill moved into dough sheet 3%, displacing the dough forward into recess sheet 252 and rearward into recess sheet 2%. The flew of the relatively vis cous dough in the two directions from the ridge produces a bulge in the adjacent recesses, and this bulging of the dough is encouraged by the fact that, at the point of maxim pressure. ridge 2M compresses rubber layer 8255 of the lower roll, causing the rubber layer also to bulge into the recesses at each side oi the ridge. While such resiliency in the supporting surface that cooperates with the ridges of the ions roll is desirable, it is not essential, since a satisiactory bulging efiect may be had by relying solely on the displacement of the dough by the ridges oi the forming roll.

In Fig. ll), it will be noted that the bulge in the dough formed on the forward side of one ridge forms a substantially continuous curve with the bulge produced on the rearward side oi. the following transverse ridge of the for roll, with the result that the profile oi a putt ares formed by two consecutive ridges is arcuate. This contour is of pleasing appearance, but other desirable configurations may be had by varying the spacing of the ridges, the width of the individual ridges,

the thickness of the dough sheet, and perhaps the spcnginess of the dough as affected by csowding the dough sheet longitudinally, the possible configurations ranging from extreme oonveidty to a relatively wide pull area that is substantially flat in the cential portion and bulged only the edges.

Fig. 10 shows other ridges E 3 diseased longitudinally or obliquely of the dough sheet to complete the configuration oi the various pus? areas, the above remarks appertaining to the action. of the transverse ridges being also applicable to these longitudinal or oblique ridges.

it will be noted that although the mass oi dough directly under ridge fiti is expressed to either side of the ridge, a residual quantity oi dough remains between the ridge and the supporting surface below, this residual quantity of dough constituting a web 2%.; interconnecting scijacent pufi areas. It has been iound desirable, although not essential, to provide notches in the ridges as indicated at so that these relatively thick interconnected webs 2% will be reeniorced with suitable ribs molded by the notches.

Where the ridges are employed solely to outline individual crackers, the ridges may be designed to make all of the connecting webs oi canal strength; but if some oi the ridges serve to outline crackers and other ridges serve merely to separate the ndividual crackers into pufi areas, it is required that the ridges that outline the crackers weaken the dough sheet substantially more than the ridges which merely subdivide individual crackers. The required dififewnce in the two types of scores on the dough sheet may be attained either by dific-rence in the sadiai extent oi the ridges, or by difierence in the matching oi the ridges. Preferably, both diillerences will be present, the ridges that outline the individual dough units being of greater radial protrusion by a few thousandths of an inch than the ridges that subdivide the crackers, and also having fewer or shallower or narrower notches to provide reenforcing ribs of less cross-sectional area.

An important feature of my invention is that the progressive molding of a dough unit avoids damaging pressure on the dough at the puff areas by the molding means. Air overlying the dough of a pufi area cannot be trapped and then compressed to damage the dough as in the case where the pod area is formed along all edges simuitancously. It will be noted that since the transverse forming ridges are spaced apart peripheral- 113/ on the surface of the roll, only one ridge at a time presses against the supporting surface of the lower roll to provide an air-tight seal, and even then the notches in the ridge discourage such a seal. As a result, air over a pull area at the molding stage is always free to escape as displaced by the bulging action of the dough.

The forming roll 3% may be designed to produce any desired pattern of interconnected dough units.

For example, it may be desirable to produce a rectangular cracker such as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the cracker being divided diagonally into two puiii areas til. it will be noted that the ribs 268 incorporated in the marginal web see are relatively narrow and of relatively slight vertical dimension; whereas the ribs 259 of the diagonal are of much greater width and height.

The cracker of Figs. 12 and. 13 may be provided by either at" the patterns of ridges shown in Figs. 15 and 16. In Fig. 15, the ridges 252 that outline the individual dough units are disposed longitudinally and transversely of the dough sheet and have relatively small diagonaliy-disposed notches 353; whereas the ridges ilt that subdivide the dough units into pufi areas are disposed diagonab iy oi the dough sheet and have relatively deep and wide notches 255.

The design shown in Fig. 16 produces the same cracker, but diners from the design in Fig. 15 in having the cracker-outlining ridges disposed cliaaonaliy of the dough sheet and the subdividing ridges disposed longitudinally of the sheet, the first named ridges being shown at 2% with notches 25? and the subdividing ridges being shown at 256 with notches 259.

The formed dough sheet is in effect peeled from the forming roll, and since the recesses of the roll clear the dough, the tendency of the dough to adhere to the forming roll is confined to the ridges of the roll; as a result, the pattern shown in Fig. 15 causes a jerky peeling action, the adlierence oi the sheet to the roll being momentarily multiplied many times when the peeling action encounters one of transverse ribs 252. For this reason, the pattern shown in Fig. 16 is believed to be the more desirable, since there are no transverse ribs perpendicular to the direction of movement of the dough sheet. An additional reason for preferring the pattern shown in Fig. 16 is that the pad areas are longer in the direction the sheet travels, the result being greater freedom for air to escape from each pull area as it is being formed.

Although the margin of the dough sheet may be left as a plain strip to support the marginal crackers during baking, such marginal strip being discarded, it is preferable to break up the marginal strip by short, transverse ribs 262, having notches 263 as shown in Figs. 15 and 16. to provide relatively small crackers. which may be sold either separately or intermixed with the other crackers. in such case, distortion in baking is confined soleiv to the marginal strip where it is not important, and the uniformity of the primary crackers is maintained...

As a further example, another type of cracker is hexagonal in shape, as shown it, the cracker having six symmetrically arranged pufl areas 264. Here again the ribs 2% of the peripheral web 286 are relatively narrow and shallow compared to the ribs 28'? of the radial lines that subdivide the crackers. A development of a clesign for the roll that will produce this cracker is shown in Fig. 17.

Inspection of Fig. 1*. reveals o. oi oi agonal and lateral ridges, each ridge having portions that outline dough units one. portions that subdivide dough units, the gloltlons being dlstingulshable both by the fact that fewer notches appear in the portions of the ridges that define edges of contiguous crackers and by the loot that such portions of the ridges are of greater width than the portions that subdivide individual dough. units into pui! areas. For instance, lateml ridge 268 has only two relatively narrow and shallow notches 269 in that portion of the ridge that forms one edge of the cracker centered. at are; whereas an equally extensive portion of some ridge that serves to subdivide a cracker centered at has four relatively extensive notches lilll, one of the notches being in the center of the crocirer. It will be observed that the above remarks describing a transverse ridge apply also to the diagonal ridges of the pattern. In this particular design, marginal crackers are formed as indicated by ridges 213, these ridges also being relatively wide and having only slight notches.

It will be noticed in both it. and i l, that the subdividing ridges of the forming roll have impressed the dough at various leaving depressions 2. Pressure p ints has served to pin the two sides of the slough together. This function is performed by the cookers of the prior art.

The formed dough sheet to comic-mi by conveyor belt 39 to the oven belt MSW inasmuch as the formed dough sheet me be strei 1i loingitudinally either by a tension: i surface of roll 37 or because lohgli; sion in the formed sheet While to belt 39, it may be desirable or, o 1 re dough sheet longitudinally to citzfilica'te cla'stoiticii of the dough unit engendered by such elongation.

Such longitudinal crowding may he pro detl in the course of transmission from hell; (iii of the dough-treating mechanism to belt of the oven. This particular act of crowding the our; meet, which may be of great importance in the appear once of the finished crackers, may not be attained conveniently by changing the speed, of the oven belt through rheostat most tical control of the crowding efiect is to he had by regulating the speed oi" belt but the speecl of belt 39 is critically related to the of the moving parts performing the prior steps of the process, particularly the speecl of the forming roll. An important advantage of having a master speed control for the whole chain oi ziough treatlng mechanism now becomes apparent, because acljustment or the master control will regulate the crowding effect at the point the dough is delivered to the oven, such regulation being cc-conmlishetl without upsetting the critical speed relationships between the various moving parts of the precech ing chain of mechanism.

After receiving a sprinkling of salt from hopper I64, the formed dough sheet i338 passes into the oven where it is first dehydrated and then baked into a rigid, fragile sheet, the intercomnected dough units preventing distortion of he crackers in baking. Issuing: m the oven,

weaves baked. sheet is subjected "while still hot to the oil spray treatment. Finally, the end of the sheet protruding beyond the edge oi the finishing table is continually broken oil by the action of roll 233.

Roll 233 tends to lore-air the crackers into transverse strips 213 (Fig. 4), although individual crackers are separated also as indicated. at 2M. For the most part, the strips are broken by their fall into tray 38. Practically all interconnections that survive the impact of the fall may be broken by the simple act on the part of an attendant of pressing down on the mass of crackers in the has hat, the flexibility of the tray bottom being provided for this purpose. These various provisions for separating a fragile, belted sheet into incli vidual cracker units with a minimum of manual labor comprise one of the features of my invention.

The preferred sequence of operations in my process and the apps. us for performing those steps been described, but obviously' both the procedure and the apparatus may he simplified.

A modification. in the direction of simplicity is indicated by Figs. 18 and Dough slab Till supported by iced board, .l'ii is reduced to a corn tinnous dough sheet Zl'll in one stage by a suitable pair of 219 and Zffili, and. is then delivered to a conveyor belt Zlli. Belt ilfil passes around a suitable roll 252 towards the front of the apps rates and a second smaller roll 283 near the receiving end. oi the oven. From belt 28f the dough is transmitted to oven belt driven by oven pulley :81. Belt 28E, as it carries the dough, passes between. forming roll fill-l and the complementary lower roll 2%. Preferably, lower roll 285 is of unyielding material, belt tie-- pendeol upon lor any required resiliency. For this propose, the belt will be of rubber.

'Wllile this arrangement does not provide the some opportunities as previously described for crowding the sheet longitudinally prior to applh cation of the forming roll, it does have certain advantages. The problem. transferring the dough from one conveying surface to another is simplified by the arrangement 0;? belt illll and the arrangement does avoid the necessity oi peeling slough away from roll 24%. Elongation of the formed dough sheet is confined to the tendency of the sheet to adhere to forming roll and such slight elongajon may be readily 0vercome by causing the slough to crowd at the point of delivery to the oven belt. It is apparent, also, that in this form of the invention only two speed controls are necessary, one for the pair of rolls 219 and 28B and the other for the pair of rolls Till-1 and 285. Fig. 19 shows the slough sheet in this arrangement passing under forming roll it. The action here is substantially that previously described.

For the purposes of adeouate disclosure and to teach the principles involved to those interested in art, I have disclosed one specific sequence of operations as an. example of my process, and have described a specific apparatus for carrying out that sequence; and I have suggested the mannor in which both the preferred operation and the mechanism for carrying out that operation may be simplified. Other modifications and changes in my procedure for applying the principles involved are suggested by my disclosure, and I reserve the right to all such modifications and. changes that properly come within the scope of aopencleci claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. The method oi: progressively reducing e.

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